The meeting with Luminous Valentine's Envoy could no longer be postponed.
The envoy, a chillingly polite vampire named Louis, was ushered into the main hall.
He was met not with fear, but with an air of absolute, unshakeable confidence.
Rimuru sat on her throne, radiating sovereignty.
To her right, the massive form of Veldora was settled into a chair, meticulously filing his nails with a bored expression—a clear signal of supreme, contained power.
To her left sat Milim, happily humming a tune while constructing a complex structure out of brightly colored magic cubes.
Crucially, Shion stood directly behind Rimuru, her eyes fixed on the envoy, a portrait of lethal, unwavering loyalty.
Shuna was positioned nearby, a stack of scrolls ready.
And over by the window, nearly invisible, Arthur leaned against the frame, a silent, all-knowing observer.
"Welcome to Tempest, Envoy Louis,"
Rimuru began, her voice calm and firm.
"I apologize for the delay, but my focus has been on economic stability, as you can see by the tremors of our new Great Underground Labyrinth."
Louis offered a smooth, practiced smile that didn't reach his ancient eyes.
"A powerful undertaking, Demon Lord Rimuru. However, my mistress, Luminous Valentine, is less concerned with dungeons than with the current unprecedented chaos caused by your former opponent, Hinata Sakaguchi, now raging within the Western Holy Church. This chaos is... disruptive to order."
Louis's intent was clear: frame Rimuru as the cause of the instability.
Rimuru, armed with the knowledge provided by Shuna's analysis and her own hard-won political experience, went on the offensive.
"Disruptive indeed,"
Rimuru agreed, leaning forward slightly.
"But you misunderstand the cause, Envoy Louis. Tempest did not cause this war. The war is a symptom of the ideological flaw Luminous Valentine has been tolerating for centuries."
Louis's smile vanished.
"That is a dangerous accusation, Your Majesty."
"Is it?"
Rimuru challenged, her eyes hardening.
"Luminous rules the Holy Empire with a firm, stable hand—a structure we respect. Yet, the administrators claiming to represent her will simultaneously use a fabricated doctrine—that all monsters are evil—to sow discord, incite rebellion, and attempt illegal raids against my allies in Farmus. They betrayed the stability of your Demon Lord champions."
Rimuru gestured towards Shuna, who instantly unrolled a precisely detailed scroll.
"We have irrefutable proof,"
Rimuru continued,
"That the corrupt elements of the Church initiated acts of war even before Walpurgis. Hinata Sakaguchi merely returned to purge the corruption that was already poisoning the Western Nations. Your Goddess's system was flawed because she allowed human greed and corruption to fester beneath her doctrine."
Rimuru's point was a calculated strike: she was not challenging Luminous's power, but the political incompetence of her subordinates.
The tense atmosphere suddenly broke.
Louis's eyes darted past Rimuru, his expression freezing in momentary terror before he quickly regained his composure.
He had sensed something impossible: the overwhelming, absolute, yet passive power of
Arthur by the window.
Louis's highly developed senses confirmed that this was the source of the recent, terrifying power surge—an entity whose reality-bending force was so vast, it defied analysis.
The true power backing Tempest hadn't left; it was simply watching.
The sheer audacity of the negotiation—a new Demon Lord blaming an ancient one's administrative failures, all while casually being backed by a supreme cosmic being—was stunning.
Louis was forced to adjust his entire strategy.
"Very well,"
Louis conceded, his voice tight.
"The corruption of the human administration is regrettable. But the continued fighting is a danger to the entire continent."
Rimuru delivered the final, non-negotiable term.
"Then your task is simple, Louis. Inform your mistress that Tempest will provide controlled intelligence and support to those factions seeking to quickly end the civil war and restore order. We expect Luminous to do the same. This crisis ends when we—the stable powers—decide it ends. Do you accept this alliance of convenience?"
The word "alliance" was powerful. It placed Rimuru on equal footing.
Louis bowed, defeat etched beneath his practiced composure.
"I will relay your terms to Luminous-sama. Tempest's commitment to order is noted."
As Louis departed, Rimuru let out a massive sigh of relief. She had won the political stand-off.
"Not bad,"
Arthur commented from the window, giving her a slow clap.
"You even used the Labyrinth to cover your delay. Solid risk assessment. Now, about that Eastern Empire threat you mentioned before I left…"
[email protected]/phelio 200+ more chapters